@DrQuine: The security applications for the 360 camera are undeniable, but if the camera is available to common people, then this can be misused, since the arrival of this camera would be bombarded with privacy interruption questions by the media.

The pen can also record many more things in the environment. But this pen can also be used for different purposes, not all falling under the canopy of "good applications". For example, this pen can be used to record private conversations, and can also be sued to copy handwritings/signatures since it transmits the digital data of handwriting of a person. If someone is being polite and gives you his/her pen if you have lost one, never use it to sign your name.

The 360 degree camera is a good thing, unless it is connected to an open network, which probably can be hacked.

My guess is you wouldn't need to display all 360 degrees all the time, but the ability to 'zoom-in' to the area where the action is, seamlessly, might be a big deal. Think football with every player wearing a camera. Not sure what bandwidth it would take to record everything or what kind of shock resistance would be needed but thoise are questions for another time...

360 degree camera may be very good for the security of the high profile people, it will also find good usage in medical areas. Also it will be fun to have for personal use when on travel and need to take various snapshots.

The 360 degree camera is an interesting idea for broad use. Having the four cameras permanently aligned together makes the stitching process much easier than a swept panorama (which my SmartPhone easily accomplishes). I see two challenges in adoption. First, the the optical distortion: my "normal lens captures about 36 degrees of the panorama per shot so it takes 10 frames to make an image. A wider angle lens requires less frames (less cameras in a CENTR device) but at the cost of more severe geometric distortion at the edges of the frames. I'd expect lines to become wavy. Secondly, even if the geometric distortion could be computed out and corrected, displaying of the images poses a challenge. We don't have a convenient display mode except for a 360 ('theater in the round" screen). Certainly they would be a great device for sports and security monitoring where the panorama can be rotated to the areas of interest.